Cigarette or the like lighter



Nov. 4, 1952 L. H. HOWARD-JONES CIGARETTE OR THE LIKE LIGHTER FiledManin 19, k1947' 3 Sheets-Sheet l FIG.

I n ven tor lfb/ma Mmm/v man1/oms By MWL H15 Attorney .Inventor[fm/Zf/afaMmm-Ja/vfs By azz: M

H15 Attorney 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 L. H. HOWARD-JONES CIGARETTE OR THE LIKELIGHTER Nov. 4, 1952 Filed March 19, 1947 Patented Nov. 4, r1952CIGARETTE OR THE LVIKE LIGHTER Leonard Hamilton Howard-Jones, Belfast,Northern Ireland Application March 19, 1947, Serial No. 735,610 In GreatBritain October 30, 1945 This invention relates to cigarette or the likelighters and more especially to cigarette lighters of the larger typefor table use.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of examplewith-reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevationof the vlighter and cap,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the with the cap removed,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary front view of the lighter, Y

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the lighter showing thecowl in section,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary View of the hinge tting, with lowercasing removed.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, showing amodiiied form of lighter.

lighter,

Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view on the line` VII--VII of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail view to a larger scale, and

Fig. 9 is a similar View but showing the cap in open position. y

The lighter is generally in the form of a pillar or column of which themain lower part consists of an open top casing or cylinder I having aninsulating liner IA and forming a receptacle for a battery 2. The upperpart consists of ay shorter casing or cylinder 3 slidably fitted intothe top -of the cylinder I and is closed at the top by a plate 4. A fuelchamber 5 is located below the plate 4 and is spaced therefromby aninsulating block 6, which consists of a series of laminations to enableeasier wiring. An insulating plate I is provided on the bottom of the`chamber 5. The plate 4, chamber 5, block 6 and plate 1 are heldtogether by bolts 8 and nuts 9, and bolts passing through guide tubes,ID provided in the chamber 5. The cylinder 3 forms a sliding lt in thecylinder I. A Ytube II provided on top of the chamber 5 guides the wickI2 upwards through the block 6 and extends for a short distance abovethe plate 4. Projecting upwards from the ,block 6 through apertures inthe plate 4 are twb meta-1 rods YI3 and I4 which are spaced apart andslightly to the rear of the tube Il. soldered to and connecting the rodsI3 and I 4 is a iine resistance wire I4 which is located slightly to therear of the wick l2. The rod I3 is connected to a spring contact-stripI3A located on th'elbottom of the` chamber 3, the connection being ,madeby a. wirelltl which passes through a tube I'I in the chamber 3. Thecontact-strip I3A contacts the battery 2. The rod I4 is connected to`contact 15A on the front of the block B.'

In the circuit 'there is a switch which 'consists of asubstantially'U-shapedr spring-metal strip I8 which is located betweenthe front of the chamber 3 and the cylinder I. The leg I8A of the stripI8 contacts the chamber 5 and the leg I8B contacts the cylinder I andextends upwards past a press-button I9 to which it is attached andprojects through a slit 26 in the front of the cylinder 3. On top of theplate 4 there is mounted centrally a cylindrical cowl 2|. The cowlsurrounds the portions of the tube -I I.v wick I2 and rods I3 and I4extending above the plate 4, and also the resistance I5. The cowl 2| isopen at its top en d" and the front half of thecowl consists of anair-inlet or grille formed by a series of horizontal bars 2 IA spacedvertically l apart.

-The upper part is closed by a cap 22 which is of substantially conicalshape and which has a y the slot 20 acts as a catch and engages theindent and holds the cap closed. The hinge connection at the rear,consists of a hook-shaped member 24 which is attached at one end to theinside of the cap at 24A, and at the other end a curved portion 24Bfreely embraces a pin 25 which is mounted in opposed slots 25A in thewall of the cylinder 3. The pin 25 is rounded at each end to t flushwith the upper casing 3, so that when said casing is iitted into thelower casing I, the pin is held in position by the two casings. One endof a leaf-spring 26 is connected to the curved ,portion 24A and theother end presses downwardly on the top of the chamber 5 when the cap isclosed. The plate 4 is recessed at 21 to accommodate the hinge 24. Whenthe cap 22 is open the portion 24C of the hinge 24 rests on the top ofthe cylinder I.

To operate the lighter, the button I9 is pressed to release the catchformed between the end of the strip I8 and the indentv23. At the sametime. the strip contacts the contact 15A closing the electric circuit.The resistance I5 glows and lights the wick 5. It will be understoodthat when the catch is released, the cap springs open under the actionof the leaf spring 26.

As a result of the grille being located only at the front of the cowl,airfor combustion enters largely at the frontvand thus there issubstantially no iiow of air up past the resistance I5, so

` that there is a sort of deadzone Y (Fig. 4) which is at comparativelylow temperature. Thus the life ofthe resistance I5 is not shortenedbyoverheating which would cause the resistance to become brittle and tooxidise. Moreover, the soldered joints between the rods I3 and I4 do notbecome overheated and melted and therefore also have a longer life. Thecowl 2| also protects the resistance I5 from mechanical damage.

A filler-tube 2'& is'provided Qn top of the chamber 5 and extends forashortdistance above the plate 4. The lower end of the cylinder I istapped and is closed by a screwthreaded cap 29 whichcontacts the battery2 at 29A.

The cowl 2| may only partlysurround thisV wick and resistance and maybe` completely open at the front.

Referring to Figs. 6 to 9it will be noted that the cap 22 has an angledplateSS attachedinside to act as a snuier which, as shown in Figi 6;k

closes down on the cowl 3I when the Capt-fis closed. The snuier acts toreduce evaporation when` thecan is closed` andit also serves toextirlguishf. the name, promptly asthe lid is closed. inthe absence oi'ka snuier and iff a piece oiforeignA matter should.` be.. jammedbetween,the cap and., thezcasing so thatthe, lid does not spring open, onoperation or the button. there. may be a slight. puff orv explosion.inside,4 the cap, but this is avoided by a snuiif'er..- rIlhei plate Si)isv preferably of a resilient nature`v so that itwill, not impede thefull closing oi the cap when theV plate contacts the top. of the cowl,The. cap has a hingeplate, 32 which has a central upset tail` or stoppiece 43 and, twol side, parts 41S bent round the hinge pinliwhichrotates inlacurved extension fifi of the casing '47. Whenthe cap22A is closed itl pushes inwardly the two leafv springs 53, 49 which areattached to the casing itiv and which, jointly throw open4v the capvvwhen the button is pressed. As-.thecapfliescopen the tail 43. enters a.slot H3A and as itnears the full open positionshown. in Fig, 9, thebottom end ofthe tail, engages theinclined surface 9B and. forcesthesprng t9 away f-rornlthe spring 48. Thus the capis frictionallybralred.` as it nears its full open positionwhich is determined by thetail 63. engaging the top of the slot 68A. Thus shock or suddenstoppingof the cap is mitigated. In the full open position the tail passes overcentre with respect tothe spring. G9. and engages a straight upper partof the spring iiiA which thus lightly holdstlle lid open and prevents itinadvertently closingL when the lighter is inclined sayy in the processof lighting acigarette..

In the arrangement shown in Figure the contact strip for the, batteryconsists of. a bowshapeds-pring strip 5i).- attached at its middleandwith its4 endsprojecting downwardly. Such strip admits of thebatterybeing inserted upside down, the ireeends ensuringadequatelelectricalcontactwith the bottom of the:v battery of which theusual terminal rests on the closure cap at the foot ofthe casing. lThisupsidedown location of thebattery is advantageousas it protects the topof; the; battery; from the electof, any petrol that maybespilled fromthe fuel chamber.

I claim:

l. A device; ior affording and ignitingV a; flame of: gas, includingasourceof electrical energy, a reservoir for holding: aneasilyvolatilizedliquid,

a wick passageway, wick meansheld therewithin.

for lifting and vapourizing said liquid, Said wick means dipping at thelower end thereof into said liquidl and extending; at` the upperextremity thereof above saidl passageway, a cowlbi generallyIcylindrical form having4 atA one portion of;

the lateral periphery thereof. an open: air-inlet grille, said upperprojecting portion of said wick means terminating in a horizontal planelying substantially mid-way between the planes formed respectively bythe upper peripheral edge and the lower peripheral edge of saidcylindrical cowl, a substantially horizontally extending electrothermalconversion unit positionedl within said cowl at4 a. portion thereof'located substantially 180 from the position of said grille, with respectto said wick means, means for conveying electri cal energy, from saidsource thereof to said electro-thermal conversion unit, saidelectrothermalfunit having the top thereof positioned between the bottomand top edges of said cowl and functioningA so as to convert saidelectrical energy intov thermal energy at a temperature suiiicientlyelevated to initiate the combustion of gasfsupplied from said wick meanswith air entering said cowl via said?, grille, means for deterimningther discharge off Said, electrical energy iromsaidsource into saidelectro-thermalA unit, manually operable means for actuating saiddischarge determining means, gas-barrier means in cap-like form, forsurrounding said cowl and the contents thereofwitha` mass of relativelyinert air when said. device. is inoperative, a springbiased hinge uponwhich said gas-barrier means rif) are mounted soA as to angularly rotateover a number of degrees suiicient substantially to afford-free; accessof the circumambient atmosphere to the interior of said cowl viasaidgrille, when saidA device is operative` spring-release means fordetermining said rotation of said gasbarrier; means, and meansconnecting said spring-release means ior'determining said rotation ofsaidggas-barrier means, and means connecting saidspring-release means tosaid manually operable actuating means, whereby depression of saidmanually operable means substantially simultaneously actuates saidspring-release means and said discharge determining means,therebydetermining the rotation of said gasbarrier means, the access ofair tov said wick means, the' operation ofsaid electro-thermalconversionv unit and the ignition of the air-gas mixture. present in'the vicinity of said upper projecting portion. of said wick means andthe consequent lighting of a ilame emanating from said wick means, andsaid cowl functioning to entrap suicient of said air-gas mixturetherewithin, so as to affordA substantially instantaneous initiation ofcombustion of said mixture upon functioning of said electro-thermalconversion unit; and said cowl also functioning so as toadmittherewithin only air sufcient in quantity to maintain said llamesolely at regions of the cowlA interior relatively remote from theregion adjacent'tO said electro-thermal conversion unit. whereby theeffective life of said electro-thermal unit is improved and said namemay be kept in existence O Ver relatively prolonged periods of timeWhile, protecting, said electro-thermal conversionunit fromundueoxidationrof the surface thereof;

2. AY devlce-.accordingto claim 1, in which the grille consists ofhorizontal bars interspaced vertically from top to bottom of the cowl.

3. AsdevioeQaccordngto claim 1, in which the cowl; is.. of cylindricalshape..

4,.4 Adevice according to claim l, in which the top ofsaid,electro-thermalconversion unit is in thesamehorizontal plane` asthe projecting top portion of,l said wick means.

5.v A device according toclaim 1in. which the top of saidelectro-thermal conversion unit is located slightly below the level ofthe top of the wick means.

6. A device according to claim 1, in which said grille has threeair-inlets, said air-inlets consisting of horizontal slots, of which twoare located one at each side of the Wick and resistance and atsubstantially the height of the top of the Wick while the third extendsbetween the other two at the side remote from the resistance and belowthe level of the wick.

LEONARD HAMILTON HOWARD-JONES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS l Name Date Zwilling June 19, 1934Florman Nov. 5, 1935 Williams Jan. 20, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Country DateGreat Britain Nov. 24, 1927 Great Britain Apr. 14, 1932 Great BritainMay 17, 1932

